“He’s come from a whole dynasty of danger and crime.”
Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Hollyoaks star Jonny Labey has teased his character Rex Gallagher will be at the centre of a hard-hitting storyline next year.
Rex has got involved in several sticky situations since arriving in the village earlier this year. First, he began an affair with Ste Hay as the pre-time jump episodes saw Chester grappling with gangster Blue’s crimes. Then, Rex was revealed to be Grace Black’s long-lost brother, and now it seems he’s reconnected with two faces from his past, newcomers Kat and Jacob.
“We’re introduced to Jacob and Kat and they are little bit of Rex’s past,” Labey told Liverpool Echo. “Before he came to Chester, he was involved in various exploitation avenue and he has a connection with these two people.”
The actor promised something “huge” is coming Rex’s way in 2025 — and it sounds his connection to Jacob and Kat may have to do something with it.
“As far as I’m allowed to say, this all links in with a huge, huge storyline,” he said. “They are kind of planning and aligning quite a lot of things so it all lines up. The writing team are making sure they are steering it in the right way and linking everything together because there’s so many crossovers.”
He added: “Jacob and Kat are a huge link to what Rex was. He’s come from a whole dynasty of danger and crime.”
The subplot won’t just involve Rex, but is said to have an impact on the entire village. It will kick off after what Labey described as a “nostalgic” incident happens in the new year.
“What happens next really affects a lot of people in the village. It’s really building up to something which Rex is hugely a part of next year which is really quite turbulent but also quite gripping and it’s something that’s a huge problem in the UK and it’s a huge problem with how people are treated,” Labey said.
“It’s not necessarily a story that’s been spoken about a lot so I can tell you that and Rex is kind of being at the forefront.”
The actor added: “Something massive happens in the New Year and it’s nostalgic in a weird way for fans so it’s really going to set things on fire but what it leads to and the world Kat and Jacob are a part of is a much bigger picture.”
Hollyoaks airs on Mondays-Wednesdays with its Channel 4 streaming premiere at 7am, then an E4 broadcast the same night at 7pm. Full episodes are also released on YouTube a week after their Channel 4 release.
